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The meeting on Tuesday will discuss future plans for the prevention of flooding and maintenance of the river Shannon.
Meanwhile, on Monday 4 January, Simon Harris, Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), held a separate meeting of the national coordination group on recent severe weather at the Department of Agriculture to discuss the impact of the flooding on infrastructure and communities and to ensure a co-ordinated response by all agencies involved.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at the meeting, chief agricultural inspector Bill Callanan said: "Emergency fodder concentrate will be provided in potential animal welfare cases. There is still an opportunity for farmers to avail of that and around 100 farmers have availed of it so far.”
We cannot have the situation whereby people are using the environment as an excuse for not doing anything. That’s simply not acceptable.
Callanan added that emergency fodder is a high-energy concentrate. "It’s the easiest to deliver in these poor conditions to those having difficulty trying to feed stock in isolated locations. Arable crops can suffer when under water for long periods, but the vast majority of this land is prone to flooding. That’s not to say there isn’t difficulty or damage done in those situations, but the primary focus of the Department is on stock maintaining and dealing with those sorts of issues.”
Plans for maintenance of Shannon
Speaking in advance of Tuesday's meeting, Minister Simon Harris said the environment could no longer be used as an excuse for maintenance work not being carried out on the River Shannon: “We cannot have the situation whereby people are using the environment as an excuse for not doing anything. That’s simply not acceptable.
“Already European directives allow, under public good, for certain work to be carried out. They also provide windows of time each year for work to be carried out. So the idea that you can’t do maintenance work on rivers doesn’t stack up."
Harris added that it needs to be established which agency is responsible for the maintenance of the Shannon. "In some cases it will be the OPW, in many more it will be the local authority, and in some cases it may even be the landowners themselves,” he said.
Wettest December in history
Met Éireann said that it was the wettest December in the history of the State, with the rainfall equivalent to that usually expected for November, December and January combined.
We are now moving into a period removed from abnormal weather, with more normal periods of rainfall expected on Wednesday and Thursday. However, the impact of this rainfall is unknown as high water levels remain in rivers around the country.
The OPW identified 66 areas along the Shannon as flood risk areas, and is currently putting in place plans to deal with that first.
“This is the first time in the history of the State that we will actually have flood management plans for the Shannon. We hope to have them by the summer,” Harris said.
Tuesday's cabinet meeting is also expected to reach a decision on plans to put in place a flooding forecasting system for the country.
The Department of Agriculture's helpline remains open and farmers with significant fodder losses or animal welfare concerns can avail of it. Call save 0761 064 408 or 01 607 2379.
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